Deviations From The Norm
by Harlequin
Summary: A slice of life fic for the Second Chances Story Arc


**__**

Deviations From the Norm - A Day In The Life

Part of The Second Chances Story Arc

By Mandy Lever

About the only person who got up on campus as early as Paige did was Everett Thomas. His father was a doctor, and he worked long hours, and had taught Everett a good work ethic. This meant he slept in on the weekends, all right, but he was up on time and ready for class when he was supposed to be. Unlike, say, Angelo or Jonothon.

Angelo was a teenager who'd never really done 'school'. He'd run on the streets, and they'd been his education. Graduated from the School of Hard Knocks with flying colors. But here, in the 'lap of luxury' that was the Academy, he took every advantage he could, when he could.

And then there was Jonothon. A grudging student, full of his own ideas on where he'd rather be and how much he'd like to be there. School was a chore, just something to go through till he could escape, and head off to play guitar with his mates. Now, he didn't sleep like a normal person did anymore, but that didn't mean he came upstairs with the sun like Paige did, or even on time, like Everett did. He moved through life at his own leisurely pace like he always did.

And this is why Everett was shocked to see them both coming into the foyer of the boy's dorms just as he was heading out the door. They usually ran late. Jonothon came up from the basement, letting the door slam so hard that it rattled on its hinges, and Angelo came down the stairs quickly, giving the apparently ill-tempered Jonothon one furtive glance, and nodding to Everett as he headed out the door. 

Jonothon didn't even seem to register Angelo's presence -- no, Everett saw the slight narrowing of the British mutant's brown eyes. And they were securely locked on Angelo's retreating back. If looks could kill, Angelo would have survived the barrio for nothing.

Jonothon brushed past Everett, without so much as a 'hello'. Everett just watched the pair head off to class, and then stepped out. He wondered how long the two of them would continue like this. After all, it'd been over a week since the Orphanmaker and Nanny's assault, and apparently, no one was talking. Paige wasn't speaking to Jono, Jono wasn't speaking to Angelo, Angelo wasn't speaking to Jubilee, Gayle wasn't talking to anyone, and Sean looked ready to pull out his hair. 

And Everett was utterly out of the loop. Jubilee had become awfully friendly with Angelo lately, and he hated to admit it, it kind of stung. And then there were Angelo's feelings for Paige, Paige and Jono's non-romance, and Gayle being the 'other woman'… Ev was almost glad that he didn't have a place in that confused 'love hexagon'.

He sighed softly as he trudged through the campus, as looked at the trees, dressed in their autumn finery, and then just kept walking. He'd talk to Jubilee tonight, he promised himself. He would. He missed hearing her over the past few months, and while he was glad she was friends with Angelo, he…

He was jealous. 

But he _wasn't_ getting involved in this... Love hexagon. Not at all. He'd just be there for her, if she needed him. And on that thought, he went into the main building and headed to class.

******** 

Sean watched them all enter. Paige and Monet had already been here a few minutes. One by one they came in: Angelo was the first, and that was a mild surprise. Ange gave Paige a look, and a tentative smile that she didn't return. 

Jonothon was next, and Sean watched Paige turn her eyes away from the door. She apparently didn't want to see him, at _all._ The sting of Jubilee's pronouncement about him 'getting some on the sly' still bit deep, even Sean knew that much. And the fact that the two hadn't spoken probably didn't help things. He knew what she was going through, really. His own relationship with Moira was on rocky ground itself, especially since her infection with Legacy.

Everett's slipped in quietly, while Jubilee's entrance couldn't be missed however, as she babbled an apology and dropped into her chair. Then, all turned their attention to the head of the class. He wondered if he looked as worn as he felt. See here, Paige, this is the cost of leadership that you want so badly. 

"Alright. We won't be havin' lessons t'day, class. We're gonna be welcomin' a new student intae our midst." A murmur rose up among the class, but Sean waved away all questions. "Our new member is waiting for us, suited up in the Grotto, " he replied. 

"So when do we get to meet this 'Mystery Student'?" Monet asked. 

"Yeah, 'Shee!" Jubilee enthused. "Who is it? When we gonna see 'em?"

Sean just smiled a little. "Go suit up an' meet in th' control room. We'll be waitin' for ye." With little more then that, they all moved out and out, at a fairly rapid pace. 

Sean watched then go, and then headed toward the Grotto as well. He had worried about this manner of presentation. Wasn't there another way to do it? Maybe Emma could have… No, he wasn't going to think about Emma.

Wherever Emma was, he hoped she was…sorry? Angry? Regretful? He couldn't say. He pushed those feelings aside, and just went back to his focus. He had to do this for the students. They needed him.

********

Monet was the first student there, and she saw only Sean in the control room, quiet and thoughtful. 

"So where are they, sir?" She asked as she scanned the room quietly.

"Suiting up."

Her brow spocked up, and as the doors again wooshed open, allowing the rest of the class to enter. "Really?" The other students murmured their assent to Monet's question. "Aye,"hHe said, and ushered them all down the sloping hall to the biosphere.

They all came quietly into the encapsulated wilderness in which they trained. It was quiet, except for the steady thrum of machinery in the walls, and the sound of the river running off in the distance. And then the silence was broken only by the rustle of Penance's approach, as she slipped out of the trees to crouch nearby.

"Now, I know some of ye are going tae question my decision, of me choice in students. But all of ye, even with some of yuir checkered pasts, have been accepted and welcomed with open arms. An' so, our newest student deserves no less." He took a breath, and turned, looking over his shoulder at the the hall from the control room. "She should be down any moment."

The group fell silent. Finally, Paige's voice shattered the calm. "You made Gayle a student, didn't you?" It didn't take much for her to put two and two together.

"Aye."

Paige's voice was cold. "Where is she?"

"I'm right here."  


All turned, and Jono managed a hushed, Bloody fucking 

'ell! at the sight in the doorway.

The uniform fit snugly, the shape outlined trim and fit. It was just like any other Generation X uniform. And then there were the gloves. With heavy locks on the sides, they weren't like other gloves. They covered the entirety of her hands. 

Wot the _hell_ is this supposed t' be? Some sort of bloody sick _joke?_ Jono demanded, whether of Gayle or Sean, no one knew. 

"Good question," Paige said, turning her gaze to Gayle's. Green eyes met blue, and then Gayle looked away, looking up at Sean. He raised his hands, and put them on her shoulders, standing just behind her.

"This team is about learnin' t' utilize yer abilities. Whether ye are mutant, or," he turned his eyes downward to the young woman before him, "otherwise. Generation X, welcome yer newest member," his eyes turned down to Gayle, "Deviant."

"Deviant. Great, well that _definitely _tells us what she's been doin' with Sparky," Jubilee drawled. 

Sean took his hands from Gayle's shoulders, stepping around the girl and then folded his arms as he locked gazes with an indignant Jubilee. "I'm going tae pretend that I didn't hear that, Jubilation. If ye must cast aspersions onto Jonothon, ye better start throwin' stones at everyone else. T' clarify to the _entire_ class what we're tryin' tae do for Gayle here is _cure_ her. Till she's cured, however, she still need tae feed." He nudged her, and she raised up her hands, displaying her gloves. 

The only part of her hands that were not hidden behind the heavy, yellow material were her palms, and the maws therein. Instead, a heavy wire mesh enclosed them. "Durin' trainin', these gloves will be locked, except durin' special exercises, which ye will be warned of, ahead of time. This is tae prevent her from passin' of her emplatin'. However, out of the trainin' room, she has been trusted not tae wear these things, and tae enable her tae feed when she and Jonothon choose tae." 

A hush went over the class, and Jonothon folded his arms over his chest and looked away. Sean's brows furrowed, but he continued on his explanation. "Jonothon, for reasons of his own, and due tae the fact that his mutant biology makes him incapable of becomin' an emplate, is allowin' Gayle tae feed from him. It's no small miracle that he's keepin' her a live. If yuir are what we _hope_ yuir are, the continuation of Xavier's Dream, ye will accept her with open arms. I've spoken with the lass and Jonothon both, and they understand what's expected of them." Sean clasped his hand together, letting Gayle walk over to stand not to far from the class. 

"Now," continued Sean, "Paige, Monet, and Everett, ye've been away from the campus for a time, and durin' the summer, Jono, Angelo, and Jubilee caught up on their lessons. Ye three will be stayin' and workin with Deviant. Alright, the rest of ye. Dismissed. " Sean headed out deeper into the grotto.

Angelo turned and looked toward Jonothon, and then followed the Englishman's gaze back toward the group. He watched Paige move into position with pained eyes, and then headed up the hallway to the control room. 

"Gowon, Gray," Jubilee's voice carried over to Angelo as she passed. "I mean, you guys are like, buds and everything. Ya ought to talk to him." Her blue eyes were dark, troubled. 

"I think we owe him an apology, Jubecita."  


Jubilee's eyes are dark. "You take Yorkshire, I'll take the Queen? Then we swap?"

Angelo's brows furrowed, briefly, and then nodded. "Yeah." She looks over at the circle of students and then both walked up into the Control, shortly after Jonothon.

********

The door to the basement had a sign that Jonothon had apparently nicked from some hotel. 'DO NOT DISTURB', it read in bold letters. 

'DO NOT DISTURB'.

Well, after lunch and time to ponder his words, Angelo had finally gotten the cojones enough to go through with this. Finally, he raised one thin arm, and knocked.

'oo's there? floated up the almost ghostly psionic voice of the basement's resident. 

"It's me, Jono." 

There was a long pause. Wot the fuck do yer want? 

"To talk," he paused, and was about to speak again. "To ap-"

Go talk t' Jubilee. Yer seem t' be doin' a right fine job of 'at, lately. 

"Fuck it," Angelo's hand closed around the knob and gave it a twist. It was open. He pushed the door open, and headed downstairs into the darkness. 

Jono sat on the couch, one leg up, cradling his guitar. His head jerked upward, looking over as Angelo brazenly walked in. Soddin' arse, didn't any of 'at sink in? I don't want t'- 

"Listen, I came down here to _apologize_, okay? Madre de dios, man, you don't make this easy, do you?" Angelo gritted, leaning there in the doorway. 

Should I make it easy? Jono said, putting his guitar aside carefully, and then rising to his feet. Should I make it easy, after yer an Jubilee saw t' let Paige in on somethin' that isn't even _bloody true? _

He had him there. Angelo floundered for a moment, and then sighed. "Look, man, I'm sorry. But I didn't-" he began, but Jono didn't seem to be in the mood to listen, his psionic voice cut him off sharply. Goddamnit, Angelo, I can't even _do_ what Jubilee bloody accused me of! _Blokes of psionic energy don't 'ave sex drives! _Even if I wanted t', I couldn't. Not wit' Gayle, not wit' Paige, not with anyone. You _fuckin' satisfied?_

Angelo's jaw began to sag open, as Jono rounded the couch and headed toward him. _Think _about it, Ange. _Yer _always bitchin' 'bout never _getting' laid, _think about bein' _permanent._

The Latino stammered. "I didn't - Jubilee - "

Jonothon's angry gaze didn't spare Angelo his rage. Didn't wot? Didn't think 'bout yer mate? Some fuckin' friend yer are! 

"Now wait one goddamned minute!" Angelo snapped, his strange, blue eyes flashing. "Did I mail Paige, telling her that you'd brought Gayle home? Did I? You notice something, she ain't talkin' to me either, hombre." 

Jonothon paused, his scowl not easing. So? Yer still told Jubilee. 

Throwing up his hands in frustration, Angelo made a sound of disgust. "_Madre de dios! _She drew her own conclusions, _amigo_."  


Yer _gobshite_. Yer been all friendly wit' 'er, Jono snapped in return. Or am I 'drawin' conclusions' of me own? 

Angelo met Jonothon's gaze, spark for spark, his voice rising as well. "Jubilee _needed_ somebody, Jono! Everett was in St. Louis, and _you _ sure as hell didn't look beyond your own problems and Gayle's! Jubilee had been _taken_ and _tortured _by that mother fucker Bastion and Everett wasn't there to pick up the pieces. So I filled in!" 

This time, Jono was the one whose eyes took on the look of vague shock. "Dammit, don't you _get _it?" Angelo continued, apparently on a roll, "You're not the only one in this damn school with a load of shit on your shoulders. Have you even bothered to ask her where she was? What she went through, while we were running from Prime Sentinels? _Have you? _Or did you just stick your fucking head in the sand and pretend you're the person outta us chicos to have problems?"

Don't yer try an' turn this 'round on me, sunshine. Jono growled after a moment. I didn't know a damn thing 'bout Jubilee. I've been tryin' t' keep Gayle alive, runnin' ragged an' tryin' not to get me arse drained dry in the process. An' then 'er big bloody 'ole buggered it up! If I coulda talked t' Paige- 

"Why don't you talk to me now?"

Both teens whirled, and there, standing where Angelo had been, just a few moments before, was Paige Guthrie, still in her uniform. 

"Ah, Paige… " Angelo blinked rapidly. "Quick exercise?" he asked lamely. Paige's eyes flickered over to Angelo, and then returned to Jono. Angelo's eyes darkened, and he stepped back. "I've said my piece. You wanna talk about it, you know where my room is." He reached into his pockets, fishing out his cigarettes, as he moved past Paige. 

She reached out, and caught his arm. "I want to talk to you, too, later, if you don't mind." Her voice was soft, and he met her eyes. She managed a weak smile for him, and he felt oddly relieved. Then, he nodded quietly, and then left the pair alone.

Jonothon watched Paige quietly, just wondering how to answer the questions he knew she was going to ask.

*******

Tired after some rough and tumble in the Danger Grotto, Everett was looking forward to a shower and lunch. However, seeing Jubilee waiting up in the control room made him pause. "Hey, Jubes," he greeted her with a smile, and she nodded quietly.

He moved quietly over and tilted his head. "Hey, you okay?"

She nodded silently, her eyes remaining on the window into the Grotto. "So what did you do?"

"Played a mutant verision of hide an' seek. They had to find me and tag me." 

She arched one brow. "So who found you?"

"Gayle, actually." His brows furrowed slightly. "She's got all the abilities of Emplate except for that dimensional shift. She looked at me in there, and … said she was sorry. It was weird, because she had her 'sight' active. Her eyes were black." He shook off his discomfiture at the thought of her eyes.

"Figgers." She snorted dryly, her eyes narrowing a little. "I guess I had her wrong, though. With Yorkshire an' all."

Everett nodded quietly. "She's down there talking with Sean and Monet, if you're waiting on her."

She sighs, and rose from her seat. "Naw," She grumbled. "C'mon. You look hashed, man, an' I mean it. Wanna grab some eats?"  


Ev smiled widely, rising with her. "Yeah." He walked her out of the biosphere, quiet beside her. "So, how were things over the summer?"  


"Weird," she admitted as she walked back. "I mean, the _last_ person I expected to get all chummy with was Espinosa. I mean, Burrito Boy was a nice guy an' all, but I never expected him ta be, ya know, _there_ for me an' everything." She sighed. "It was almost as good as havin' you there."

Ev laughed lightly, and gave her a warm smile for her comment. "Thanks. I really worried about you, over the summer. You were never, uh, far from my thoughts."

Jubilee returned his smile with one of her own. "Cool." 

"Hey, Jubes?" 

"Yeah, Ev?"

"I know we haven't seen each other in a while, an' all," his brows furrowed, " and I really would like to catch up. But not here." He stopped and looked at her, and she paused with him there.

"Huh? Well, like where we gunna go?"

He shrugged a little. "It's a Friday. I figure, ask Sean for the keys to the jeep, go into Boston tonight, get some dinner and talk?"

Jubilee's face slowly expanded from curious, to hopeful. "Ev? Uhm, is this a… well… a date?" 

He hadn't thought of that. But from his reaction; the slow blush and hesitant smile, he didn't really mind the idea. "If you'd like," he said.

Hopeful exploded into joyous, and Jubilee threw her arms around Ev's neck and hugged him tightly, "Keen! Uhm, when are we-? I mean, you gotta get the keys, an' all, and gotta clean up and it's a couple hours into Boston an' all…"

He laughed, taking no small pleasure from her joy, and said, "I'll go shower and clean up and then talk to Sean. I'll drop by your room and then we'll go, okay?" 

She nodded, her hair flipping into her eyes with each vigorous shake of her head. "Alright! Kewl beans! I'm gunna, uh, go now!" And without another word, she was running across the campus, trailing bright, happy streamers behind her.

Ev sighed a moment, smiling and watching her. And then he hoped he could get the keys from Cassidy. Shouldn't be _too_ hard. He allowed himself one private moment of smugness, thinking that just maybe he could keep her free of the love… whatever it was, just yet.

He just hoped Angelo really didn't… like her like that. He'd hate to think that anyone would get hurt.

********

__

Click! Kthunk! Click! Kthunk!

Monet turned at the strange sound behind her, and saw Gayle - or 'Deviant' - with a key clenched in her teeth, and rubbing at her wrists. "Got to make those damn things _lighter_, Cassidy." She muttered to herself.

Monet arched one slender brow, turning. She was going to go out and get out of her uniform, but this opportunity was too rare. Who knows when she could corner the girl when she was tired and had low resistances to the upcoming interrogation.

"Why did you agree to those gloves?" was her first question. No pleasantries, no politeness. Just her need to know.

"To make the rest of you more at ease."

Monet sniffed delicately. "They hardly put us at ease, Deviant," she said haughtily. "They are a badge. A badge of your sin. Of your betrayal. Of everything _wrong_ you mean to this team." 

Gayle's eyes narrowed to slits of forest green. "Listen. We got off to a bad start, a year ago."

"I would say that it wasn't a bad start, Gayle. I would say you made an abysmal choice and are reaping what you sow." 

"You sodding _bitch_." Her words came out hissed through clenched teeth. "You _dare_ to talk to me like that? After you _lied_ to these people? About who and what you are?"  


Now it was Monet's turn to whirl, and hair swinging behind her in a black wave. "Now, you listen to me, little Emplate." She said, putting one foot swiftly in front of the other, "You've got Marius's putrid stink all over you. And I can sense you three miles off. And I know all of your weakness, inside and out." 

Gayle stumbled back, but Monet's hand lashed out and caught her by the throat, and was hefted with horrifying ease into the air. Monet looked up as the struggling noblewoman, and set her features into a mask of calm fury. 

"You and I are going to come to an understanding. You are an invader in my home. You threaten my security, the few students here I care about, and my safety. You are lucky that I did not break your neck after I pulled myself together that day with the Orphanmaker."

She opened her hand, and let Gayle drop to the grass with a _thud_ and then continued. "You're lucky I saw that you could think of others before yourself, when you acted to save us. But don't think that I will let you slide by, and let that be your repentance for what you've done, and what you've become."

Gayle coughed once, now that she could breath, "Fucking, arrogent cunt," she growled, sinking to the words that she'd picked up slumming back-alley pubs with Jono, "this has nothing to do with you at all!"

"Doesn't it? Ms. Frost once told me that it was demeaning to lie to a telepath. And so I will tell you. Stay honest with me, Gayle Edgerton," the Algerian said, as she looked imperiously on the young woman at her feet. "You have courage." She said, as if naming off qualities about some brood dog. "You are also ruled by your passions, and are horribly emotional, and therein lies your fault. You're an emplate, Gayle. I'm sure you'll do what's in your DNA to do. And if you don't, you'll die a martyr for love. Either way, your fate is assured."

She paused, letting Gayle get her breath. "Do you think you can be cured?"

Gayle's lip turned up in a sneer. "Wouldn't be here otherwise. I'm certainly not here for your company!" 

"But you are here for Jonothon's." Monet said. "Is that it? Just staying with him, clinging him till either the madness of the need claims you, or one of the other of you dies while you seek your 'cure'?" She snorted in a most unladylike fashion, as she turned on her heel. "You're not strong enough to even think about an honest cure, are you? No, some simpering child my brother turned in a fit of whimsy."

"You know _nothing_ about Marius and I!"

Monet's eyes widened just a hint, and her lips pulled into a moue of distaste. "If you're insinuating what I think you are-"

"You'll never know, now will you?" Gayle sneered in return. 

"I won't even sully myself with finding out the answer. I could tear it from your mind, Gayle. Don't ever forget that." Monet turned on her heel, and then paused, looking over her shoulder. 

"I'd prefer you die a martyr, Gayle. But I can always make you an example, instead. You won't be the first emplate who's fallen at my hands. And you certainly won't be the last."

And without another glance back, she lifted to the air and flew up over the treeline, to the exit from the biosphere, leaving Gayle coughing in the grass.

********

He stood there, for a moment, memorizing her face. The soft roundness to it, the large blue eyes and the pert nose. She had a feminine quality that was … undeniable, and that permeated everything she did, even when one expected someone with a far more… tomboyish attitude to go along with it.

Paige, he began slowly, yer 'eard wot Cassidy 'ad t' say. An' I don't know 'ow much yer 'eard with me an Angelo, but- 

"Jonothon," she said softly, "we're gunna-" she paused, getting a handle on her voice. "We're going to do this quick and easy." She swallowed, staring hard at the young man across from her. "Did you love her? Before?"  


His answer came without hesitation. Yeh. 

She nodded. Fair enough. She couldn't have expected any other answer. "Do you love her now?"

He paused, and then looked away. Not like I used t'. 

She held there a moment, wondering if he was being truthful. She took a final breath, and the moment before she spoke again seem to draw out for an eon. "Do you love me?"

He was silent. He closed pained eyes, unwilling to look at her as he knew what his answer would bring. I- I dunno, gel.   


She made a small tortured sound, and he was sure he'd just broken her heart. But as he lifted his head to look at her, frozen there, her eyes agonized, he found he couldn't say anything. "After two years, Jon'thin, Ah think ya could give me a straight, yes or no, answer!" she snapped brokenly, her voice giving out at the end. She took a shuddering breath, her lips curling in pain and disgust. "An' ta think Ah've gone an made mahself a fool for ya the past two years!" The knowledge burned her pride, just as his words seared her heart.

He turned, reached for her lamely, not knowing what else to do, to make this so she wouldn't hurt, but she stepped just out of his grasp. "Don't ya touch me. Ya don't care how Ah feel. If ya cared ya wouldn't have led me on for two years, lettin' me think that Ah might be somethin' to ya." Her voice was taut, her face flushed with hurt and anger, her eyes bright as she glared at him with all the hate she could muster.

Dammit, gel, yer are! He snapped in return. Again he moved toward her, but she stepped back toward the stairs.

"But Ah'm not her! Ah was just another _bandage_ for your _poor wounded heart_!" she cried, and then turned to run, but he reached out, caught her arm, and pulled her hard back to him. As he swung her around, her fist came up, and then lashed across the remains of his cheek with a resounding crack that echoed in the confines of his basement bedroom, turning his head with the force of the blow. Without turning back, he released her.

Eyes bright with unshed tears, she just stared at him a moment. The bandages where she'd just struck him were falling slack, and soon pulled around his ruined throat, the wild orange fire-light beneath lighting up his tortured expression. 

She thought wildly what she always did, whenever she saw him revealed.

__

He is so strangely beautiful.

And then she turned and bolted up the stairs, choking back the sobs till she was racing across the quad. 

Jonothon just stood there a moment, his expression still locked in that pained visage. Then, he ambled over to his couch, as if some automaton. He sat there, and buried the remains of his face in his hands.

He didn't move, except for the occasional quiver of his shoulders, for some time. 

********

Gayle was the last person Angelo expected to see, still the grotto. After all, training had been over for some time, and it was getting dark. But nevertheless there she was, perched up on the top of one of the boulders at the side of the waterfall, her head tilted upward, as if she were staring at the sky through the glass dome above her.

Well, chica, you sure know how to turn a whole team on its ear. Jubilee and Ev are uncomfortable because you're an emplate, like he was once. Jono dosen't know what to do with you because you're his ex. Paige hates you because you're stealing the guy she's worked at getting out of his shell for two years. Monet probably isn't too happy with you since you gave over to her brother. Me? I just don't know what to think of you.

"Hello, Espinosa." He chided himself briefly, as he cut through the trees near her. Remember her senses - you're a mutant, so she can sense your power. "Hey, Edgerton." He raised one arm, shooting the skin out to wrap around a branch with a _thwip_ sound, and then pulled himself up level with her, swinging over to scramble to where she sat.

"Bollixy bastard, aren't you. Don't you know I'm the big-bad emplate, out to steal you from your girl and sup on your genetics?" she drawled as he sat down.

"I'm single," Angelo said dryly in response, "And Emplate himself wouldn't feed on me, so why would you? You got Jono as your personal buffet, after all. Why got for a gamy, tough thing like me?"

She actually chuckled at that. "You're Latino, so I'm sure you'd be somewhat spicy. And I do like spice." She tilted her head, and looked over at him, and he returned her gaze with his luminescent blue eyes. 

"Nah. I'd give you heartburn. Trust me."  


"You'd probably be easier to stomach then Jono. He's bitter over my tongue."

"With good reason."

Her brow arched up. "No more then me."

"Why said you weren't bitter?"

She sighed, looking away as her features set in a scowl. "Yes, I suppose I am. So, his farmgirl forgive him?"  


He sighed. "I don't know. I left them alone." He reached into his pocket, pulling out his packet of cigarettes. "You smoke?"

"Only when applied to an open flame." He laughed again, and when she reached for one, he allowed her one and then lit up. She took a drag, and immediately coughed. "Ah, fuck. I haven't lit up in two years!" she grated, and he patted her on the back to ease her coughing. Eventually, she got her breath back, and was soon smoking right along side him.

"You never answered my question. What are you doing out here, still?"

"Where else do I have to go?" she tilted her head back, her green eyes briefly reflecting the starlight pouring through the glass, and then they were swallowed up by blackness. "Ev and Jubilee aren't on campus. Monet is… studying, I think, in her room. Paige and Jono.. are in their separate rooms," her brows gathered and knitted together as she spoke, " and they're upset. He's… distraught, she's angry and hurt…" her eyes slipped back into that semblance of normalcy, and then she said, "And you're sitting here, sharing a smoke with me." 

He nodded as he listened, though as they came to the part about Jono and Paige, he immediately began to worry. "They… It didn't go well."

She nodded, and then sighed. "Go talk to her. Dosen't take my aura-sight to know you care about her. Or him." She smiled slightly, a wistful expression. "You're a lot like his best friend, Eddie," she took another drag of her cigarette, and then flipped it into the water. "Think that I ought to talk to him?" She sounded worried, that much was plain to his ears.

He shrugged, and sighed. "To be honest, chica? I don't know. I don't know how he feels about you, anymore," he mimicked her movement, sending the cigarette butt flying into the water. "You might. You might not." 

She looked over at him, as he rose, and then nodded. "I'll take my chances." Her voice was low - she knew the possibility of outright rejection was high.

"You know, you got cojones," he said, as he lashed a skin tendril around a branch. Then, he looked back. "You want a hand down?" 

She blinked at him, and he felt warmed by the smile she offered. "Yes. Thank you." She stepped to his side, reaching out that gloved hand, and allowing him to secure her at his side. "A more unusual way of transpo-OOOOOOOOOOOOOOORT!" She shrieked into his ear as they were suddenly dropping. He pulled that skin taut, and swung over to ground like a pro.

"Aw, c'mon. Where are those cojones, chica?" He joked with her, as he released her.

"They, like the rest of me, are… not fond of heights." 

He blinked at her, and then laughed. "You'll get over it. Trust me." He released her, and then grew a bit more serious. "Good luck."  


"You too."  


He waved it aside. "It's Paige. She'll listen to reason. She…she knows she doesn't have to worry about her pride with me, si?"

Gayle simply brushed a hand through her hair, and nodded, as she stared for the door. "You're a good solid, bloke to your mates, Espinosa."

He was silent till they reached the outside. He looked at her a long moment, and then nodded. "You're a good woman, Gayle. I can see what Jono saw in you."

"Thanks." She smiled once again, and then began to head across the quad toward the boys dorm.

"De nada, " he murmured. Yeah, Jono couldn't do much better then her, not counting Paige. For all that she seemed to be a gene sucking monster, if you talked to her, she wasn't too bad.  


********

Espinosa had scored points tonight. His understanding, his friendliness, and his general willingness to do more then just stand off and watch her go through hell made Gayle respect him.

But he wasn't in the forefront of her thoughts. Another mutant, and another set of problems was. She looked at the 'DO NOT DISTURB' sign on the door, and was struck by a memory, of a motel, a party, and two pissed teenagers. She'd like to have a more romantic memory of her first intimate experience, but for two punk kids, it was all she needed at the time.

She sighed softly. "Still clinging, Jonny?" She was struck with the total idiocy of it - him loving this girl, and no one even seeing the signs that he was still holding onto his old life. But then, no one knew what could be read into a single door sign.

She rapped her knuckles lightly against the door, and when no answer came, she opened it and looked down the stairs. It was dark below, but she could see a flickering light from around the stairs. She decided to brave the downstairs, slowly heading down each step, listening to it creak beneath her feet.

She rounded the corner, her eyes shifting again to take in not only the light, but the aura of the mutant who lived here. She always gloried in the radiant colors, the wild light, that Jono emitted. Eventually, he'd take his place among the premier of his lot. "Jonothon?" She saw his form, sitting at the end of his oft-unused bed, head tilted back so that all was visible was that up-reaching flame.

Go away. 

She didn't stop. Instead, she maneuvered around the couch, till she got a good look at him, and let her aura-sight time. She could see him clearly enough by the light of his own, psionic flame. "You okay?" she regretted those words as soon as she said them.  


No, Gayle, I'm not bloody 'okay', he droned, as he brought his eyes to bear on her. I 'aven't been 'okay' since I blew me fuckin' chest out. I 'aven't been 'okay' since I put yer in a Goddamned wheelchair, he began to struggle to his feet, his hollow voice echoing in her skull, or since I took Paige and broke 'er bloody 'eart, because I can't, the past three years, get yer outta me damn 'eart, no matter 'ow 'ard I try. 

She chewed on her lip as doubt ate at her. Exorcise her from his heart? Perish the thought. She knew she still loved him, even after three years apart, even after the accident, ever after the abandonment and betrayal. "Jon," she began, stepping forward, "I'm not going to just leave you, not with P-"

Don't yer even say 'er name. Yer don't got the bloody right! he snapped, cutting her off as he strode forward, but stopped, abruptly looking her over in the light of his own chamber. She wondered she saw, what he thought. what he -

Don't look at me like 'at, Gayle. Don't love me. I'm a monster inside an' out, luv, no matter 'ow I try t' deny it. He swept his arm as if an all-encompassing gesture. I ruined yer, I ruined Paige! Wot more am I gonna do? 'oo am I gonner ruin next? 

"Jonothon, _shut up,_" Gayle snapped firmly. She took a step forward, and then another; the irresistible force approaching the immovable object. "Haven't you gotten it? Hasn't it sunken in that you're not the monster here? Any bloke could have done what whatever it is you think you did, Jonothon."  


I lied t' 'er. I let 'er think that I could _be_ something to 'er, beyond just a mate. 

"Maybe," Gayle offered. "Or maybe," she continued, her tone still firm, "the real lie here is that you haven't loved her, or never will."

Jonothon's eyes dropped. He looked at his roiling psionic flames, and contemplated the difficulty of examining a heart that no longer existed. I gave me 'eart once, gel. What else 'ave I to give? 

"You gave your heart. And I never gave it back, Jono." She took another step forward, silent. She stopped just before him, her face illuimated from the wild blue light that flickered in the place of his face. She paused, and then swallowed. "You want it back? You really want me to walk away, and not look back?"

His voice almost broke. No. He paused, looking up to her face quietly. But I can't- not now - 

Her eyes showed her regret, but she nodded, and stepped back. "Alright." She swallowed. "When you're ready for me, Jonothon, I'll be waiting for you." And then she turned and headed up the stairs without another word. 

He sat in silence after she left, wondering - how could he destroy one girl's love, and yet - rediscover another's?

*******

While Gayle went to Jono, Angelo had his own mission of comfort and mercy to attend to. He headed into the girls dorm, and nodded to Monet as he passed her in the hall.

"She only just now stopped sobbing," Monet commented as she went into her room. "Quite a blessing, to finally have some silence." 

Angelo's blue eyes narrowed to slits, but Monet didn't meet his gaze, just stepped into her room and shut the door behind her. Angelo kept walking. Two doors down, he stopped, and rapped on the door.

"Who's there?"

"It's Angelo, Country Mouse."

There was a long pause, and for a time he wondered if he ought to knock again. But then he heard her lock slide open, and her door opened a crack. 

It pained him to see her in such a state. Bloodshot eyes, tear streaked cheeks, and a puffy nose. Yep, Monet was right. She'd been at the bawling game for some time.

"You wanted to see me?" he paused, "Or do you want me to come back some other time?" 

She shook her head, ambling back toward her bed, and the rumpled form of her bear, Mr. Picklebottom, who she grabbed again and clutched to her chest. 

"Are you okay?"

She took a halting breath. She let it out slowly. "No. Ah am not 'okay'," she replied. "Ah have not been 'okay', since Ah got _drunk _ and tried ta kiss a boy with no face, who was kind enough ta stay with me the whole night." She sniffled, and then continued. "What Ah've been is a plum fool."

Angelo moved haltingly over to Paige's side, and she stayed still until he sat down beside her, and and put a hand on her shoulder. "What happened, country mouse?"

Then, in great gasping sobs, the whole story came out. The things she'd asked, Jono's answers, and how she stuck him in the end. When it was all over, he was comforting a sobbing farmgirl against his chest, her tears hot and damp through the cloth of his tank top. He just rocked her gently, sighing softly. 

"I'm sorry, Country Mouse, I really am," he didn't really know what else to say. I told you so? I should have stolen you out from under his scarred nose? "I wish I knew what I could-"

"Ah _hate_ her."

"Whoa, Country Mouse, hold up-"  


"Ah _hate _her, an' Ah _hate_ him for lyin' ta me an' leadin' me on. Ah've never been so hurt an' humiliated in mah life!" Paige sobbed brokenly into his shoulder. "Ah shoulda never kissed him, Ah should have jus' let him walk away-" 

This was progressing beyond Angelo's knowledge of the situation. To prevent her from blurting anymore personal information she might regret (and he might wince at knowing, despite what Jono told him down in his room) he simply laid a finger over her lips, and said, very softly, "Chica, you don't hate. I know you. You got a big heart. And he _hurt_ you. I won't deny that. I think he was a fool, alright? I woulda never tossed you over for Torres, in a million years, if I were in his place, but Paige, Jono ain't me, and Gayle ain't Torres. They split with feelings still there - and he never stopped loving her, even after what he did to her - even after running away from her."

She took a breath, her lips down turned and then just sighed softly. "Ah'm tired. Ah think Ah'm gonna go to bed."

"Momma Espinosa always said something pretty bright, and it's kept me ulcer-free. Don't go to sleep with anger as your bedmate." He rose, and tugged her from the bed. "C'mon. We'll go make somethin' to eat, and then figure out something to fill up some time." 

She looked up at him, blue eyes weary, and then sighed. "All right." 

Angelo tried to be bright, and he cupped her chin in his lanky gray fingers before she rose. "Look at it this way, Paige. You waited two years. But how many you got before you, to find who you _really_ deserve? Two years may seem long - but you still got the rest of your life, si?" He smirked, and said, "Who knows, maybe your chico is right around the corner, and you woulda missed him?"

She laughed, but there wasn't much humor to it. "Ah bet. C'mon, Espinosa. Ya tryin', but ya ain't doin' very well. Maybe gettin' somethin' in mah gut will help take the sting off."

He nodded, and put his arm around her shoulder, steering her out the door. Maybe it was better this way. A swift, clean break - it'd sting for a while, but she'd get over it. Especially with a shoulder to lean on. And he'd always, always be there for her.

After all, he loved her, even if Jono didn't.


End file.
